


Northern Lattes

by Kateifer



Category: Casshern Sins, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-26
Updated: 2013-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-06 04:11:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1102244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kateifer/pseuds/Kateifer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ventus is not in the best of moods when he starts his walk home after a bad day of classes.  But a stop at a new cafe might just turn things around for him.</p><p>Belated Birthday/Christmas fanfictions itsamystere on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Northern Lattes

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd. The only person who I knew who was enthusiastic about both fandoms is the recipient.

The only thing about the transition from summer to fall was the adjustment that had to be made. T-shirts and shorts had to be replaced by sweaters and jackets and jeans. And sometimes forgetting that such changes had to be made left Ventus in somewhat of a foul mood. He missed being able to go out in lighter clothing, and it didn't help that he had a lengthy walk between the building his last class was in and his apartment, and then an even lengthier paper to write in a week. As he trudged through the dead leaves, he glanced up to the sky for a moment. Grey, with a gap or two revealing just a sliver of blue. That almost made it worse, honestly. It just mocked him with what would have made his day just marginally better. He forced himself to ignore that fact and just look straight ahead as he made his way back in the direction of his apartment. It was a Friday after all, things would look better once he got back to his apartment for the weekend.

The walk back was uneventful, and Ventus had spent the time forcing himself to think about anything but the assignment he was dreading. His eyes wandered around the familiar neighbourhoods he passed through to get home, picking up on some of the subtle changes in scenery. The leaves that hadn't fallen yet looked nice enough on the trees, and some over-excited families had already put up Halloween decorations, despite it only being the first day of October. When he turned onto a busier street, mostly lined with shops and apartment buildings, he couldn't help but notice a brightly coloured chalk sign sitting outside of a building which had, until today, been going through renovations. He stepped off to the side of the sidewalk to take a closer look.

He read the sign that explained that today was the grand opening of a cafe called Northern Lattes. Kind of a ridiculous name, but aside from that, it looked like a nice enough place, and not too busy. The crowd there for the opening had probably come and gone earlier in the day. It looked quiet, and it would be open for a while. Ventus decided that he could use some coffee, if he was going to make it through the rest of the day without falling asleep. And it looked like it was as good a place as any to get a head start on his essay.

When he entered the cafe, he looked around to get a better look at what the place was like. It was small, with tables ranging in size from small coffee tables beside single chairs, tables meant for two, to larger tables that could seat up to about six. At the window, there was a small bar with stools lining it. At the back, there were couches, comfortable armchairs, and tables littered around. He liked the look of it back there. He walked over to drop his backpack in one of the cushioned armchairs before turning around to walk up to the counter.

The barista had his back turned, and seemed to be washing a few mugs in the sink. His hair stuck up all over the place, though it didn't look intentional like the spikes atop Ventus' own head. It was a dark brown, but under the light there were flecks of milk chocolate brown as well. He was slim and tall, just a bit taller than Ventus, and a bit lankier. Ventus approached the counter and the barista turned around, revealing his white apron over his black outfit. He offered a small smile and walked across the small gap between the kind-of-kitchen behind him and came to stand on the other side of the counter from Ventus.

“Hey there,” he greeted, “Need a minute to decide?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Ventus looked up from the pale blue eyes of his barista and up to the board, really hoping he didn't look as flushed as he felt.

He was cute, really cute, and Ventus didn't want to be caught looking into his eyes for longer than was socially acceptable. Either the barista didn't notice or didn't mind, as he was just waiting patiently for Ventus to decide on a drink. For his part, Ventus was having a hard time choosing. It all looked really good, really. And he wanted an excuse to make more conversation with the barista.

“Do you have any recommendations?”

“Depends on what you like,” was the reply, “Are you one of those coffee purists, or do you have a sweet tooth?” The smile didn't waver, and seemed pretty genuine. Ventus returned the smile as he replied.

“I'm flexible, could go either way,” Ventus took a moment to look at the name tag on the apron, “I'll leave it up to your expertise, Casshern.”

“Alright, you go sit down, I'll whip something up,” Casshern answered, his smile becoming a bit more mischievous. Ventus went over to the seat he had claimed as instructed, and watched Casshern grab a bunch of ingredients for a drink and mix them. He couldn't see exactly what it was, but Ventus was starting to wonder whether or not leaving it up to Casshern was the best idea.

A few minutes later, when Ventus had pulled out his laptop and started working on his essay, Casshern walked over with a large mug in hand. All Ventus could see on top was whipped cream and cinnamon, but it smelled heavenly when it was brought closer. He set it down in front of Ventus amd offered him a winning smile.

“Thanks,” Ventus looked up from his computer when he approached.

“Not a problem,” Casshern gestured to the drink, “I want to see what you think.” Ventus nodded and picked up his drink. He took a small sip, and then set it down, looking impressed.

“It's great, what's in it?”

“That's my secret and mine alone,” Casshern chuckled a bit, “But I'm glad you like it. And it's on the house.” Before Ventus could argue, Casshern heard the door open for another customer and he had to rush over to serve her, and then a line started.

So both of them resumed their work, and the cafe stayed relatively busy for the rest of the evening. Casshern was busy making drinks and handing out baked goods, while Ventus was on a roll with his essay. The next thing Ventus knew, Casshern had walked over and cleared his throat.

“Not that I don't enjoy your company,” he started, “But I have to close now.”

“Oh, sorry,” Ventus started shoving his things into his bag, a bit amazed that he had managed to spend so much time writing without noticing the time pass. He had been there for almost four hours.

“Not a problem,” Casshern held out a paper cup for Ventus, “Here, another one for the road.”

“At least let me p-”

“No, just promise me you'll be coming back and we're square.” Ventus smiled back at Casshern, who looked pretty pleased with himself.

“Deal,” Ventus accepted the drink and slung his back over his shoulder. After a quick wave, Ventus left so Casshern could finally close. The rest of the walk home was much nicer than the first part, all things considered. And when he went to take a sip from the paper cup, he noticed black writing on the cup. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that along with the drink name, there was a note.

“I didn't catch your name. You should call me and introduce yourself.”

Ventus couldn't stop smiling the rest of the way home.


End file.
